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Monaco
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Max Verstappen says he was surprised to finish on the podium at the Canadian Grand Prix, pointing to George Russellâs retirement and McLarenâs strategy as key factors in Red Bullâs first top-three result of the season. Verstappen said: "To be honest, I was feeling better in Miami with the car, so I'm a little bit surprised with being on the podium here. But you also have to look at it with George retiring, McLaren making a mess of the strategy. For me to be here, of course I'm very happy."
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies says there is âprobably no reason to get too excitedâ about the teamâs first podium of 2026, after Max Verstappen finished third at the Canadian Grand Prix. Mekies said: "In Miami we finished 40 seconds from the win. It was a bit closer here now. There is probably no reason to get too excited in a way that you could also have a track layout effect, a track that could be forgiving for certain aspects of the car. But at the very least, again, we confirm Miami, the guys managed to get something more."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says the team will try its new front wing again in Monaco after Lando Norris and Oscar Piastri reverted to the previous specification during the Canadian Grand Prix sprint weekend. Stella said: "We knew that this front wing had some element of deviation from an aerodynamic point of view. So we've tested the wing. We want to repeat some testing and gain some further information. So before we adopted [it] in a sprint event, we wanted to be just more reassured that we understand the full extent of the changes we're making on the car... So we will definitely see this wing again in Monaco."
Mercedes chief technical officer James Allison said a âcatastrophicâ battery failure caused George Russellâs retirement from the Canadian Grand Prix, with the team still working to understand exactly what triggered it. Allison said: "On George's PU failure, it was an engine kill caused by a failure in the battery, which just suffered a catastrophic failure a third of the way into the race and brought George's race to an end there. We can see enough at the end of the race that the battery was fairly unhappy, with some heat damage there. We'll have to figure out in the coming days and weeks exactly what caused that and put it right."
Nico Hulkenberg said starting the Canadian Grand Prix on intermediate tyres was âa risk worth takingâ even though it left him and Audi team-mate Gabriel Bortoleto out of the points after the track dried and forced an early stop. Hulkenberg said: "It was a challenging race for us. Looking back, the conditions at the start evolved differently from what we expected. It was a risk worth taking with what we knew at the time, but in the end the opening phase didn't really play out in our favour and that put us on the back foot quite early. Even after that, we didn't quite have the pace to recover in the way we wanted."
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella says he is âvery stretchedâ in the role and that the arrival of incoming director of racing Gianpiero Lambiase is intended to add leadership alongside him, not replace him. Stella said: "Employing GP is part of this vision, which is a vision of creating additive leadership that can integrate with the present leadership and create a stronger and stronger team at McLaren. I am personally very stretched in my role as team principal, and I need a strong group of leaders working with me."
Lewis Hamilton says F1âs current power delivery still gives him âa weird feelingâ and âdoesnât feel like what motorsport should beâ, echoing Max Verstappenâs criticism after they finished second and third at the Canadian Grand Prix. Hamilton said: "It's definitely not second nature, that's for sure. It continues to be a weird feeling. You go down the power, you open up the SM, and then the power dies halfway down the straight, and the RPM starts dropping. It doesn't feel like what motorsport should be. The engine should be ringing its neck off right to the end of the straight."
Oliver Bearman says he has âno timelineâ in mind for a future move to Ferrari as he continues his Formula 1 career with Ferrari-backed customer team Haas. Bearman said: "There's no dates that I need to be doing X, I don't really care about that. I want to continue to become the best version of myself, give this team the best chance to fight and continue to enjoy it."
Oscar Piastri says it is âflatteringâ to be linked with a potential move to Red Bull, after reports claimed the McLaren driver is their top target if Max Verstappen leaves the team. Piastri said: "It is news to me, yes. There's obviously not been any discussions or anything but it's flattering, yes. There's not really much more than that, really. Hopefully it proves my stock as a driver, which is a nice thing, but I'm very happy with where I am."
Lewis Hamilton says Ferrariâs power deficit is keeping them from being able to fight Mercedes, as the FIA prepares to apply its new Additional Development Upgrade Opportunity regulations for the first time. Hamilton said: "If you take away the power deficit, we're in the fight with these guys. But unfortunately that's not the way it is today. Even when you get the overtake [mode], when you get within a second, they still pull away. So that's how much grunt that they have, and we're massively down. But I really hope with this new rule that enables us to try to improve [and find] some performance, so we can get back in the fight with them."
FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem is proposing the removal of term limits for the presidency, a change that would allow him to stay in the role beyond the current maximum of three four-year terms, or 12 years. The statute change will be discussed and voted on at next monthâs FIA General Assembly and is expected to pass, with the FIA saying it is intended to create a âconsistent approach to tenure across all FIA bodiesâ and that it remains âsubject to approval by the World Councils and by the General Assemblyâ.
McLaren team principal Andrea Stella dismissed speculation linking Oscar Piastri with a move to Red Bull, saying the rumours are part of Formula 1âs âsilly seasonâ and insisting McLaren are happy with their driver line-up. Stella said: "I think the reaction is in your question â you mentioned the silly season, and I think we are already fully in this silly season. When we think about Oscar, we couldn't be happier. I think we are seeing the best Oscar in the cockpit and also a happy Oscar, and the best version of himself outside the cockpit."
Liam Lawson said Racing Bulls âjust survivedâ on the way to a points finish at the Canadian Grand Prix after a technical issue in practice left him with only five laps and forced him to sit out sprint qualifying. Lawson said: "We put the car nearly in Q3, but missed out, and then [on Sunday], we just survived. A lot of guys retired, and we survived."
Aston Martin chief trackside officer Mike Krack says the team have âcome a long wayâ on reliability but must cut out operational errors and find more performance after the Canadian Grand Prix. Krack said: "At the end of the day, from a reliability point of view, aside to the operational stuff that we mentioned earlier, I think, you know, on the PU side, there was not a single issue, not a single fault. So, I think we have come a long way, but the performance is not where it should be."
Alan Permane says Racing Bulls are âvery rigorouslyâ following Formula 1âs technical regulations in their relationship with Red Bull Racing, after McLaren CEO Zak Brown wrote to FIA president Mohammed Ben Sulayem criticising dual ownership and suggesting Racing Bulls had acted to aid the senior Red Bull team. Permane said: "Our relationship with Red Bull Racing is very much a customer-supplier relationship. We take some suspension from them, we take gearboxes from them, and various other components that are allowed under the technical regulations, which we follow very rigorously. A lot of work goes into ensuring that we are respecting those rules. So, I don't see any issue with the way we operate currently."
Isack Hadjar said the FIAâs penalties were âfairâ after he was twice punished by stewards during a chaotic Canadian Grand Prix, including a 10-second stop/go for failing to slow under double yellow flags and a later 10-second penalty following a defensive move against Charles Leclerc. Hadjar said: "I don't mind the penalties. I think that's fair. He's a very clean driver, so I just apologise, because it was a bit stupid."
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